Working with a range of venues, Theatre in Paris has helped provide sub-titled entertainment for visitors to the City of Light who do not understand French, and now the company has gone one step further.
In partnership with technology company, Panthea, it has introduced innovative solutions including surtitling glasses, tablets, smartphones and audio headsets that make theatre more accessible to foreign-language speakers, hard-of-hearing and low vision individuals and the deaf and blind communities.
Surtitling glasses enables surtitles to be shown in an individual spectator’s view, within the glasses, during live performances. In addition to the surtitles, these AR glasses can be connected to a headset for audio description, as well as display a video with sign language.
These technological advances are enjoyed at performances of ‘Stallone’ at Théâtre du Petit Saint-Martin, a show based on a novel of the same name by Emmanuèle Bernheim about a woman named Lise who discovers in Sylvester Stallone an imaginary mentor.
Deciding to take her life in hand, ‘The Eye of the Tiger’ becomes the soundtrack of her life as she resumes her medical studies and starts boxing, always accompanied by Stallone's filmography. Stage adaptation, through both poetry and music, is by Fabien Gorgeart, Clotilde Hesme and Pascal Sangla.
The second show using the technology is ‘The Three Musketeers’ hosted at Théâtre Ranelagh, a classic venue that dates back more than 120 years and is now designated an historic monument.
Following their production of works by Molière, Corneille and Rostand, director Jean-Philippe Daguerre and Charlotte Matzneff have shaped Alexandre Dumas' swashbuckling novel about the adventures of d'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis into a colorful, fast-paced production that combines thrilling encounters with deadpan humor.
My companion and I were particularly impressed not just by the quality of acting by the twelve performers but also by their skilled swordsmanship and the authenticity of fight scenes, the lively music and the well-designed period costumes. The theatre itself is impressive, with original decor including plush red velvet seating, ornate carved oak paneling adorning the orchestra and balconies and intricately decorated ceiling. A small bar in its foyer even features a cosy fireplace.
Theatre in Paris continues its entertainment services at a wide range of venues in the city including such prestigious places as the Paris Opera and the glittering cabaret, Lido de Paris. These tickets often come with champagne, dinner, or other add-ons to grant attendees a more exclusive experience.
It also sells tickets for many performances that include English surtitles such as ‘The Bald Soprano’ (La Cantatrice Chauve) by Eugène Ionesco and ‘The Lesson’ (La Lecon) by the same playwright, both at Théâtre de la Huchette.
Theatre in Paris also provides ticketing services for shows as diverse as the humorous, English-language one-man performance by Olivier Giraud, ‘How To Become A Parisian In One Hour;’ cabarets such as ‘Crazy Horse,’ 'Paradis Latin’ and ‘Le Cabaret Burlesque’ uniting ‘glamour, humor, glitter and dance;’ classical music concerts at the Gothic architectural gem, Sainte-Chapelle, and the highly-popular eccentric opera adventure ‘The Opera Locos.’
